Question of the week, how many coatings does SilcoTek® make? Well if you go to our navigation bar and click the coatings tab, the answer is there plain an simple, sort of.... You're probably thinking "We can read the list and see there are 6 coatings. This isn't a very tough quiz."
Well this is one of those trick questions that I got wrong throughout my illustrious academic career. Yes we list 6 coatings in our navigation (7 if you count SilcoNert 1000). So you'd likely guess we have 7 coatings:
- SilcoNert® 1000 (Silcosteel®)
- SilcoNert® 2000 (Sulfinert®)
- Dursan®
- SilcoGuard®
- SilcoKlean®
- Silcolloy®
- Dursox™
The trick part of this question? We make about 20 other custom coatings developed for unique customer applications. Why doesn't SilcoTek market those coatings? Well we do sort of, we tell our customers that if a particular coating solution does not exactly meet their need, we'll work with them to change the coating to better achieve the desired material performance.
Our R&D team has gone to bat for the customer many times by listening to the customer and then modifying the surface chemistry for improved performance for that specific application. So if a standard coating does not quite meet your performance goals, don't go away thinking we don't have a solution to your problem. Give us a call and discuss the issue with our team. Often we can adjust the process to achieve your coating goals.
Some modification examples involve:
- Improving moisture repelling properties
- Thicker coating for wear, durability, or corrosion resistance
- A thinner coating for extreme precision
- Doping the surface with other materials
All coating solutions are application specific and made possible by collaborating with and listening to the customer. Developing that "glove fit" coating can take time and resources on both sides of the partnership. Development time can vary depending on coating modifications and customer evaluation needs, but the results can improve your company in a big way. Customers have made new better performing products, and made their customers raving fans by improving the material performance of their products.
How to I get started? Well you can start by learning about our coatings, and getting in touch with our technical service team. Start by getting our e-book, SilcoTek® 101.
